HC comes to the relief of doctor, orders MGM Jamshedpur to Refund Rs 39.94 Lakh of Bond fees, slaps additional Rs 7 Lakh Compensation

Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court recently granted relief to a doctor who was admitted to an unrecognised postgraduate medical course from a Rs 30 lakh seat-leaving bond.

Observing that the course did not have the required recognition by the medical education regulatory body, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Ananda Sen observed,

"The signing of the bond relates to admission. The admission only means an admission in a proper recognized course. Where the admission is itself based on foundations of deception, the consequential acceptance of the bond being irrelevant, will not have any consequence."

Accordingly, the Court directed Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Jamshedpur to refund Rs 39.94 lakh deposited by the doctor for the bond and stipend. Further, the Court also granted him Rs 7 lakh compensation for the mental agony and significant loss of career time caused by the actions of the medical college.

The Jharkhand High Court bench also questioned how the medical college was allowed to offer a postgraduate diploma course without MCI recognition and noted,

"This Court fails to understand that in this scenario, how the Medical Council of India had not taken appropriate steps against this college. It can be said that the Medical Council of India is also shutting their eyes and shirking their responsibility which they have towards the future of medical professions. I am not inclined to carry the issue any further, though, it requires some harsh treatment."

Case Background: 

After completing his MBBS from Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad, the petitioner appeared for the NEET PG 2019 examination and after counselling, he was offered admission in Diploma in Medical Radio Diagnosis (DMRD Radiology) in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Jamshedpur for the Session 2019-21.

Since Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Jamshedpur is one of the premier institutions of Jharkhand, he accepted the same and left the seat of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College Prayagraj (Govt.) Uttar Pradesh.

At the time of joining the said course, the petitioner signed a bond on 16.04.2019 and had also submitted all his documents in original. The bond condition demanded Rs 30 L from the petitioner if he relinquished his seat after being admitted.

However, allegedly, after joining the course, the petitioner came to know that there was no proper faculty in the Department of Radiology, and the DMRD-Radiology course was not even recognized by the erstwhile Medical Council of India, now the National Medical Commission.

Thereafter, the petitioner again appeared in the entrance examination of the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI CET) and after being selected, he prayed for the release of his original certificates and also prayed for release from the bond, which he was made to sign at the time of admission to MGM Medical College.

However, since his documents were not released by the medical college, he could not join the course despite his success in INI CET. Thereafter, he again appeared in NEET PG 2021 and ranked 270 in the All India Level and got admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. Considering the fact that his documents were not released and he was not relieved from the repercussions of the bond, he has approached the High Court seeking relief.

The Court on 17.02.2022, by an interim measure, directed the petitioner to pay the bond amount and the stipend amount, which the petitioner had received. Abiding by the Court's directions, the HC bench deposited Rs 39,94,645 and thereafter his educational documents were returned to him.

Arguments by the Parties: 

It was argued by the petitioner's counsel that MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur committed a fraud as the college could not have admitted the petitioner to a course which was not MCI recognised.

He further submitted that there was no proper equipment in the college, and this was also one of the grounds for the petitioner to leave the said college. The counsel argued that without offering a proper academic environment and knowingly that the course was not recognized by MCI, the medical college could not have directed and pressurised the petitioner to execute the bond.

On the other hand, the counsel for MGM Medical College claimed that the petitioner took admission with complete knowledge of the entire scenario. He further submitted that the petitioner was made aware, orally, about the situation and the fact that the course though not recognized, but was a permitted course by NMC. He further denied the petitioner's claim that the Radiology Department did not have proper faculty. The counsel also argued that the bond was implemented based on the State Government notification and it had not been challenged.

Observations by High Court: 

The HC bench took note of the counter-affidavit filed by the Principal of MGM Medical College and noted that the affidavit mentioned that at the time of admission of the petitioner, the petitioner had knowledge that the course is permitted and not recognized and this detail was verbally shared by the college administration to the petitioner before taking admission and with the complete knowledge, he signed the bond on 16.04.2019.

Taking note of this, the HC bench observed, "This submission clearly establishes that the MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur offered a Postgraduate Course without having a proper recognition of the said course from MCI."

"Whether a candidate / student is made aware of the aforesaid facts are not, is absolutely, immaterial. The question which raises serious concern, is how a Medical College is allowed to take admission in a course, which is not recognised by MCI. A course which is not recognised by the MCI should not be offered and no student should be admitted in the said course. Giving prior information that the course is not recognized, is not worthy of acceptance. What is accepted is that no admission should be offered or taken in that course which is not recognised," the Court further observed.

Noting that the college had admitted the student (petitioner) in an unrecognized course, the bench held that the signing of the bond relates to admission and where admission has been based on foundations of deception, the acceptance of bond is irrelevant and will not have any consequence.

"The respondents have admitted this petitioner in a nonrecognized course, thus they could not have forced the petitioner to sign the bond also. They not only got the bond signed but also realised the amount from the petitioner which is also a mala fide act on the part of the respondent- MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur. It is but natural that a person will not take admission in a Postgraduate course in medical college knowing that the course is not recognized," observed the Court.

"Further, there is latches on the part of the counselling body also to recommend the petitioner in a college for the course which is not recognized. The petitioner cannot be blamed for all these latches. Because of these latches of the respondents, the petitioner had to loose two years, as he took admission in MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur but later on had to leave and again appear in NEET examination 2020. His entire study period in MGM Medical College is a waste as that Diploma which is of unrecognized course of MGM Medical College, will have no value in the eye of law as neither he can use the same," it further noted.

The Court further observed that the petitioner had to re-appear in the NEET examination, which could have easily been avoided. According to the Court, this also caused mental stress to the petitioner.

Regarding the non-availability of infrastructure, the Court referred to the affidavit filed by the Principal and noted that the college admitted that the Department of Radiology had one Assistant Professor and the CT scan machine available in the department has been non-functional since September, 2020. They also admitted that there was no MRI machine in the college.

"It is really surprising that a college offering a Postgraduate Diploma Course in Radiology does not possess a MRI Machine which is a bare minimum requirement and the CT Scan Machine which is available, is also not functional. In fact, this act of concealing material facts of the non-availability of equipment for imparting the Postgraduate course amount to fraud with the students who are taking admission in the said course," observed the High Court, and questioned how the Medical Council of India failed to take appropriate steps against the college.

The bench also addressed the argument that the petitioner left the college because after completing the course, he did not want to provide service to the poor by going to the village and that is why he raised this issue to shirk his responsibility.

At the outset, the High Court bench observed, "This is another egregious stand of the Medical College. Not only the respondent- MGM Medical College admitted a student in Postgraduate Diploma Course knowing fully well that they don’t have the recognition of that Course but they had gone to the extent of sending a doctor with an unrecognized diploma to treat the villagers. This is a sacrilegious act on part of the Medical College."

In this backdrop, the Court concluded that the petitioner's admission was taken by the medical college by suppressing material fact. It held that the college played with the petitioner's future and due to this, the petitioner had to reappear in NEET for the second time. The Court noted that the petitioner was meritorious student and therefore secured 270 rank.

Accordingly, the Court directed the college to refund Rs 39.94 L deposited by the petitioner for bond and stipend and also awarded the petitioner Rs 7 L compensation.

"Considering the aforesaid, I am inclined to allow this writ petition. The petitioner is held entitled to refund of stipend and the amount which was deposited by him in lieu of the bond i.e., Rs. Rs.39,94,645/-. He is also held entitled to a compensation of Rs. 7,00,000/- (Rupees Seven Lakhs Only) for the mental agony and significant loss of career time caused by the actions of the respondent- MGM Medical College," ordered the High Court.

"The petitioner is relieved of the liabilities of the bond. The respondent- MGM Medical College is directed to refund the stipend and the amount which was deposited by him in lieu of the bond i.e. Rs. Rs.39,94,645/- along with the compensation of Rs.7,00,000/- (Rupees Seven Lakhs) to be paid to the petitioner immediately within a period of three weeks from today...If the amount is not paid within three weeks, the Finance Department of the State of Jharkhand, will deduct the said amount from the allocation of MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur and will ensure payment of the same to the petitioner," the Court directed, while disposing of the plea.

To view the order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/09/08/dr-mahesh-kumar-vs-state-of-jharkhand-474641.pdf

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